Scientists are finding new ways to test cognition in autistic individuals who speak little or not at all.

The proportion of studies that include people with a severe form of autism has fallen over the past three decades.

Autistic people who have trouble speaking or moving often do poorly on standard tests of intelligence. Newer methods promise to uncover their abilities — and improve our understanding of autism itself.

Autism and intelligence share genetic variants, researchers grow Neanderthal mini-brains and see overlap with autism, and maternal diabetes is an autism risk factor.

Children with autism often have problems understanding others’ thoughts; those who use mental strategies to compensate for these problems may be unusually anxious.

The proportion of children with autism considered to be minimally verbal in a study depends on the criteria researchers use to identify them.

A journal covering autism in adulthood makes its debut, researchers call for an ethical framework for human organoid studies, and the association between acetaminophen and autism risk comes under scrutiny.

Girls with autism may have less severe restricted and repetitive behaviors than do boys on the spectrum.

With one exception, budget allocations are booming for U.S. science agencies, a CRISPR paper that shook faith has been retracted, and professional basketball teams build sensory rooms for fans on the spectrum.

A rating of high severity of autism from the DSM-5, the latest version of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” tracks with low intelligence scores.